Erase and Rewind
by Celeste5
Summary: *New Chapter Up* Virus being cured, M/L drawing closer to each other as the virus becomes a distant memory. But will a transgenic with a mysterious power and hidden abilities post pone their romance? Please R&R! *M/L*
1. Too Late

**Title:** E r a s e  a n d  R e w i n d

**Author:** Mysticalmyst

**Email:** ochbas@msn.com

**Spoilers:** Medium is the Message and Borrowed Time (partial spoilers)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! Don't Sue!

**Rating:** PG13 (Just to be safe)

**Summary:** This is the sequel to 'You Complete Me'.  You don't have to read it (but I'm not stopping you ;).  I noticed there was hardly any M/L fics about, so I wrote this! This story is for the shippers out there! Anyway both Logan and Max are trying to find cures for the virus and are becoming emotionally closer to each other.  But will a transgenic with a mysterious power and hidden abilities post ponetheir romance? Enjoy!  

Chapter One:  Too Late

Max rolled out of bed eager to start the day**.  **_'Why do I sleep anyway?  I always wake up even earlier than usual.'_  She strode to the washroom and checked herself out in the cracked mirror that hung lopsided there.  Max brushed her teeth, splashed water on her face and began to brush her long, straight hair.  Once that was done she stripped off her pj's and pulled on a pair of black jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt.  Max then headed into the kitchen after she was dressed and saw that Original Cindy hadn't woken up yet.  

She quietly made a cup of coffee and sipped it while she watched the sun rise in a glorious array of color, ranging from deep reds to bright golden yellows._  'I would have never been able to see this if I was back at Manticore.'  _Max thanked whatever higher power there was out there that had allowed her to escape Manticore twice and live the life she led now. 

Soon the sun was up and Max had grown restless, pacing the apartment repeatedly she soon decided to get outside and enjoy the morning sunlight.  Grabbing her leather jacket she pulled it on as she swung open the door and out of the apartment.  Max wasn't sure where exactly she was headed but walked anyway figuring that her feet would decide for her.  She walked down the garbage-covered sidewalk and passed by an alleyway. 

"Hey sweet thang, how bout you pass some of that sugar this way baby!" 

Max shuddered almost imperceptibly and turned her head toward the direction of the voice.  A grungy looking man stood gawking at her in the alley; he was wearing pants so old they looked like they could crumble off him any second, a once white now black hat and a white shirt covered in stains from only God knows what.  He swayed from side to side with a beer bottle in his hands his eyes roving over every inch of her body.  '_I need a shower.  Just looking at this guy makes me feel dirty.  Maybe I should put him out of his misery.'  _

She thought grinning seductively at the man and swaying her hips as she walked slowly over to him.  The man had a surprised but knowing look on his face, as if he knew what was coming next.  Max was now so close she could smell his rancid breath coming in quick gasps out of his mouth and he reached out his arms to touch her.  She moved out of the path of his hands quickly but he persisted and succeeded in grabbing her arm.  Max smirked and faked a punch to his head; he stumbled backwards, letting go of her arm and because of his drunken state, almost falling.  Taking advantage of his imbalance she pressed her index finger to his forehead with the slightest amount of pressure and he fell in a heap not getting up.

Max shook her head in disbelief at the stupidity of the man and was once again, on her way.  It seemed that her feet had been leading her in the direction of Joshua's place.  '_Hmm…if I'm going to Joshua's, I might as well bring him something to eat.'_

Joshua had been sitting on an armchair reading a book but when Max came in to the room, he jumped up and immediately enveloped her in a bear hug that no regular human could have survived. 

"Hey little fella!"  

"Hey big fella" she echoed his greeting.  "I brought you something" She took out a slightly crushed "Little Debbie" box.  

Joshua grabbed it hungrily and looked at Max with a grateful expression on his face that soon turned in to regret.

"Max, Joshua really sorry about virus bitch papers-didn't mean to wreck them" As he said this his large bright blue eyes stared in to hers expectantly.  

"Don't worry about it Joshua, me and Logan will find another way to get rid of the virus."  Joshua visibly perked at her words "Max and Logan gettin' busy?" he asked eagerly.  

She smiled but didn't answer.  __

**F l a s h b a c k**

"Will you look at us?" Logan began playfully.

"Pathetic." Max played along. 

"Hopeless." Logan said smiling. 

"Lucky we hooked up." Max smirked and leaned closer.   

"Happy anniversary." Logan closed the distance between them and kissed her softly then with greater passion.   

"Maybe, uh... maybe we should wait. You know, until you're yourself again." Logan said awkwardly, pulling away from her. 

"This isn't Manticore. This is me." Max replied softly and leaned in kissing him hungrily and digging her fingers in to his hair.

**E n d  F l a s h b a c k **

_'I wonder what would have happened if Zack hadn't interrupted us.  Would we-'  _"Max? Max?"  Joshua waved a hand in front of her face snapping her out of her thoughts.  

"You ok little fella?"  His voice was laced with concern.  

"I'm fine-listen I gotta get to work, I'll see if I can come by later tonight ok?" 

"Ok" Joshua smiled and opened the box of snack cakes. 

Max walked out of the house and tried to make sense out of the thoughts passing through her head.  '_Would we go that far?  If anything had happened would we regret it?  Would he regret it?  Would I?'  _After a moments thought she decided.  '_No.  I wouldn't regret it because…_Max pictured Logan's gorgeous deep blue eyes that seemed to see through her past life at Manticore down to her soul.  She remembered how she felt after having dinner with him in a room lit only by candlelight, when he smiled at her she remembered the way her knees quivered and the way she felt every time she heard his deep voice.  When she had been caught by Manticore the second time, thoughts of him and the last night they spent together kept her sane.  Coming home to be enveloped in his strong healing arms, able to shut out the rest of the world and the pain that it had caused her.  Smooth lips taking hers in one heated kiss…_ I think I love him.  I'm in love with Logan Cale.'  _

Max had stopped walking as she realized this and began to take in her surroundings.  She was at Jampony and as she looked at her watch, was right on time.  

Max walked inside with no emotion on her face, barely registering Normal's, "Hey there missy miss you're here early, guess you're finally getting you're act together!" because she was so immersed in her own thoughts.  

The moment Logan had kissed her she had felt whole, complete.  Everything that she had experienced at Manticore had been washed away as Logan's lips moved over hers, their sweet taste and the warm heat that spread through her body rid her mind of all coherent thought.  In those few seconds she had been happy.  

But it was all bitter sweet because she was too late. 

A year ago, Max had denied the unmistakable feeling that stirred within her and spread outwards to every crevice of her being whenever she saw him.  Denying the love that she was unsure of before, scared of before and repeating a now hollow and empty phrase to her friends, "We're not like that."  Her friends had seen through it, seen through her eyes that were carefully masked every time he was mentioned, seen through the stiffness in the line of her body, seen through the quiver of her lip when she said his name.  Original Cindy and Kendra had known it all along. 

For a whole year they had danced around the feelings they shared, trying to pull the blinds on the beacon of light that was someday going to peak through and force them to confront it.  Too late.   

'I've always known that I loved him, in some way or another…'

**F l a s h b a c k **

"This isn't bad." Logan said to Max after looking at the gunshot wound in her heart, his eyes betraying his words, revealing desperation and sadness. 

"Logan..." She started smiling softly in spite of her injury.

"It's okay. You're going to be all right."

"I'm sorry." Max said regretfully.   

"No, no, no, no. No, we're going to get you out of here. Okay, it's going to be all right."  Logan replied trying in vain to comfort her. 

"There's something I've got to tell you. I should've said something a long time ago."  She began.

"It can wait."  Logan quietly interrupted.  

"Logan..." She persisted. 

"Max" He half whispered, half cried as Max's eyes rolled backwards and fell stiff and silent in his arms.

**E n d  F l a s h b a c k**

That night had been her last chance.  Her last chance to tell him.  To tell him that he was the one man that she would never regret loving.  Tell Logan Cale that she loved him.  The woman that had once been referred to as 'the human fog bank', the tough chick, unwilling to show feeling, black mooded girl; loved him.  Max had been about to pour out what she had kept in the core of her being for a year in three simple words.  Three simple words that held the key.  Three simple words that would give Logan the one thing she had promised never to give again.  Three simple words that would unravel the ropes she had tied tightly around it.  Melt away the cold steel that guarded it.  The one thing Manticore could never take away, she was going to give to another.  

Her Heart.         

But she had been too late.

One year.  365 days.  Not enough time.  But a tangle of paths intertwined with seconds, decisions, moments that would never have happened if done differently. Memories. 

If she had not received that package to the high-rise district a year ago, she would have never met him.If Lydecker had not put up wanted posters around the city, she would never have kissed him.

If she had not been in heat on their anniversary, she would not have demonstrated to him that Manticore wasn't her; that it didn't control her.  She controlled her own actions.  Which is why she kissed him a second time.  But she hadn't explained that kiss away.  It had meant something to them that could not be taken away.    

If she had not wanted to take down Manticore, she would never have lost the heart that was not hers anymore but his.  Her heart belonged to him and him alone, even though he did not know it.  

If she had not been resurrected with the heart of her brother she would not be alive.

If she had not been alive they wouldn't have been able to deposit a virus into her veins, to course through her blood and be pumped through the heart that belonged to another.

Time.

Now.

Max soon remembered the night before, eating a culinary miracle created especially for her, Logan's eyes glinting in the light of many candles strewn around the room and the way they had been able to talk without discomfort or fear of touching.  Just enjoying themselves for the first time since Max had come back from Manticore in late September.   But most of all she remembered his soft-spoken words "Don't give up on this Max, don't give up on us".  Logan had been referring to the virus. 

The same virus that flowed through her veins, carrying poison that was released by a single touch to his skin.  A "gift" from Manticore.  That had tarnished that sweet kiss.  

Shattering her heart in to tiny pieces, the moment he had fallen to the floor of the apartment.  Blue eyes that had been sparkling with love and passion, now spewing out pain and fear.     

Max snapped out of the torture her mind had brought her to endure and focused on the present.  '_Don't dwell on the past Max; it's too late to un- do what's been done.  You just have to deal!'  _She pushed all thoughts of the past year to the back of her mind and focused on the present.  Reminding herself that things happen and when they do you have to push yourself to find a way around it.  

"Hey Boo!" Max whipped her head around to be met with the sparkling cinnamon eyes of Original Cindy, her best friend. 

"Hey" She continued walking towards her locker and Cindy fell in step beside her.  

"Wassup? Didn't catch you this mornin', figured you'd gone off to see Moneybags" She said with a half-smile on her face.

Max rolled her eyes and popped opened her locker, "I swung by Joshua's to give him some breakfast."  

"Oh" Cindy paused as Max stuffed random items into her locker, "So what sector you workin' today?" 

"7" Max replied turning to face Cindy.

"Pretty boy's workin' your sector"

"Who?"  Max was still shaken by the memories that had pierced through her mind, haunting her thoughts.  She couldn't be forced in to figuring out who 'Pretty Boy" was.  

"Your boy Alec" Cindy smirked at Max's look of distaste and horror. 

"Don't getcha' self all bent out of shape, Original Cindy's got yo' back. I'll handle your sector." 

Max's frown blossomed into a smile, "Thanks boo" 

"I knew it wasn't true."  Original Cindy muttered under her breath.

Max easily picked it up with her enhanced hearing and confused asked, "Knew what wasn't true?"

Cindy rolled her eyes, "O yeah forgot y'all revved up"

"What wasn't true?" Max persisted, her earlier thoughts forgotten for the moment.

Cindy sighed and answered with her head down, "Sketchy said he saw you at a strip club with Alec… -She paused for a moment but after a threatening look from Max she continued- said you were givin' him a show"

Max's whole body froze and stiffly she answered, "There was a transgenic inside, me and Alec- As she said his name she visibly winced- were planning on getting her out.  The only way I could get in was by acting like…a stripper."  Max looked ashamed. 

But Cindy burst out laughing, "So Sketchy was wrong, he told us… 

Max interrupted, "Us?  Who else did Sketchy tell?"  Her rising anger was shown in her voice and the way her eyes had taken on a murderous look.

"Well…"  

"How many people did he tell?"

Cindy still didn't answer.  Max stalked off in search of Sketchy.

She cornered him at the one working pop machine they had at Jampony and slammed him against it, pressing her forearm against his throat. 

"How many people did you tell after you saw me and Alec at the strip club?"

"Um…6 or 7" 

Max narrowed her eyes at him and increased the pressure on his throat.

"Ok…uh…well it was about…40" Sketchy squeezed his eyes shut and awaited the blow that was sure to come.  When no blow came he opened one eye slowly and then the other.  Max smiled and released him.  Sketchy was puzzled but he smiled, "Thanks Max" Faster than lightening he was on the floor with a large bump rising on his head and Max's foot on his neck.    

"Unless you'd like to press your luck-at this she increased the pressure of her foot on his neck-you're going to do one of two things.  One: You're going to tell each and every person you told that you suffer from a condition that makes you hallucinate.  Two:  You are also gonna tell them that this condition caused you to imagine that you saw me at the strip club with Alec.  Do you understand?"  Sketchy nodded. 

"Say, I understand." Max glared at him with narrowed eyes. 

"I-I understand." 

With that Max removed her foot and helped Sketchy up with an outstretched hand, which he took after a moments hesitation.  He stood up, rubbing the back of his head.  Max stared at him expectantly, "What are you waitin' for?" she motioned with her hand for him to get started.  He hurried off quickly.  Max smirked. _Revenge is sweet.  _She thought as she watched Sketchy speaking to a group of people, picking up bits and pieces of the conversation, "-suffer from a condition-- hallucinating-- Max and Alec-- strip club"  
Max walked over to the front desk where Normal stood barking out orders.  "Hot run!"  He shoved a square package into her hands and she strode out of the building, grabbing her bike and hopping on to deliver the package.

*             *             *  

The day progressed and it was the same, package after package and Sketchy telling person after person in between runs.  Until finally her last run, an extra package to be sent to the high-rise district.  

_Logan._

The name popped automatically into her head. With an image along with it: piercing deep blue eyes, spiky dirty blonde hair, stubble on his chiseled jaw and smooth, masculine lips.  Lips that maddened her when they spoke words of only business, saying things that she wished could somehow turn from information in to liquid words of love and desire.  They had only started to speak words that she enjoyed hearing, words that had convinced her to believe in him.  To believe that one day not far from now, his lips could claim hers and they could be one once again. 

'Should I drop by his apartment? Or not?' Max bit her lip, as she sought out the answer.  

In light of her sudden realization Max was unsure whether dropping by his place would be a good idea.  

She rolled her eyes at herself.  'It's not like he knows about…it.'  

With that, Max pedaled off to deliver the last package and drop by Logan's.  

~~~

_A/N__- So you like so far?  Please read and review! All reviews are appreciated. )_****


	2. So Far Away

**Title:** E r a s e  a n d  R e w i n d

**Author:** Mysticalmyst

**Email:** daenyte@yahoo.com

**Spoilers:** Medium is the Message and Borrowed Time (partial spoilers)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! Don't Sue!

**Rating:** PG13 (Just to be safe)

**A/N:  **The poem Logan writes in this chapter are 2 songs by Stabbing Westward combined.  So Far Away and Torn Apart.  Enjoy! 

Chapter 2:  So Far Away__

Logan sat in his desk chair, memo pad laid in front of him with names of various doctors crossed out on it.  He ran a hand through his spiky hair and sighed.  He'd spent the whole morning and most of the afternoon searching for a cure.

A cure to break the invisible barrier between Max and himself, though last night had been incredible; they had talked and laughed almost like before.  Almost.  Max had originally come to his apartment to tell him that Joshua had accidentally splattered paint over the papers they had gotten from the lab tech, ruining them. She had been crying over the loss.  The one thing Logan had wished for the most when the tears had spilt from her eyes was to be able to brush them away with the pad of his thumb and hold her close to him.  

He sighed deeply. 

Instead he had made a promise to put his energy in to finding a cure.

Cure.

A single four-letter word.  

It drove him crazy every time it was uttered.  It meant more things than a single word could contain.  

The frustration of the day had started to eat at him, making it hard to concentrate on anything.  Logan was starting to think that his brain would shut down and he would explode.  So he took out a thick black book, filled with aged papers full of poetry and began to write. 

He had found out at an early age that he had a way with words and when he wrote he could pour out all that he was feeling.  Logan felt great when he wrote and even now, years later, he still wrote to clear his head. ****

So Far Away

Each night I feel the distance that has grown between us  
Open up as lonely as the space between the stars 

I wish that I could find a way  
To smash my fist right through these walls

Of ugliness and emptiness

And gently touch your face.

I wonder if you recognize,  
That silence now defines us.

Desperately I try to fight this overwhelming sense,  
That I may never find the strength to change how hopeless, we've become. 

Our love has been denied too long,

Soon the night will take me   
And save me from my pain

Cloak me in cold darkness 

And help me lose your name...

Max.

"Logan?" 

His eyes widened and he shifted his gaze from the poem he had just written to the raven-haired girl behind him.

"Max-Hey didn't expect you to come by today."

"Thought I'd drop by and see how the fight against the corrupt was going"  

Max glanced down at the black book in Logan's lap.  "Poetry?" 

"Uh…yeah" A red tinge colored his cheeks.

"Bout me?"  She teased.  

At this Logan's cheeks turned a deep crimson.  

'I'm guessing that's a 'Hell Yes'

Max smiled to herself.  She withstood the urge to tease him further and changed the subject.

"So…got anything to eat?"  

"Yeah, there should be something in the fridge." Logan replied, quickly putting away the book of poetry as he spoke.

He watched her walk to the fridge and couldn't help but notice the way her hips swayed as she walked.  

"Well there is something going on…around the Manticore site" Logan began tentatively, unwilling to be the one to get her hurt again.****

**F l a s h b a c k**

Images of X5's being trained,

X5's running on treadmills; tubes attached to their bodies,

Glass shattering and X5's jumping out of a window

Young Max running through snowy woods, hiding from soldiers riding on snowmobiles,

Close up of young Max beneath surface of a solid sheet of ice

**E n d  F l a s h b a c k**

"Manticore?  Is it a transgenic?"

"'Fraid so"

Max rolled her eyes and loudly bit in to an apple.  

"4 men are dead and 3 are in critical condition.  They were repeatedly stabbed in the back and left to die from loss of blood."

Max's face grew serious, "How do you know what killed those people?  It could have been anyone."

"That's the thing, the men never saw who attacked them."

Max raised an eyebrow, "What are you saying?  That there's an invisible transgenic running around somewhere outside Manticore?"  She asked disbelievingly. 

Logan nodded his head.  "Manticore probably designed it to spy on the enemy.  What better than an invisible soldier?"

Max sat heavily down on a nearby chair.  "What were these guys doing snooping around Manticore anyway?"

"They were reporters, trying to get the story on the V.A. hospital."

"So what do you expect me to do?  I can't find something I can't see." Max challenged. 

"I didn't ask you to do anything about it I was just…letting you know what some of the transgenics out there in the world are doing to people."  'Oooh, that ones gonna piss her off Cale.  The transgenics have always been a weak spot for her.'

Max's jaw tightened and her once-warm mocha eyes were dark in annoyance.  'Yup I was right, brace yourself.'  "And of course because I was the one who released- sorry- forced the transgenics into the world I am now completely, utterly in charge of every single one that causes trouble, right?" She questioned, daring him to speak.

"Well aren't you gonna say anything?" Her eyes were now completely fixed on his, staring straight in to him.

'Words are very dangerous right now.' Logan thought to himself and began choosing his words carefully, "If that transgenic kills any more people, it'll be all over the papers and the press will soon realize that the place where the killings are happening is at the V.A. hospital.  The same V.A hospital that is rumored to be a front for Manticore.  Once people start realizing that…" He let the sentence trail off.

"Wait! Wait! Let me guess…its exposure for all of us."  

Logan silently nodded his head.  "Listen, we don't have to do anything about it right away…do you want to have dinner?  I was just about to make something." 

Max's stomach chose that exact moment to rumble loudly.  The annoyed look on her face melted away and she laughed shortly.  "You know me too well, Cale.  I may just have to kill you."

"Just let me make dinner first, then you can decide whether or not you want to kill me."

----An Hour Later----

"You know, I'm still pissed at you, Logan."  Max said in between bites of the Alfredo sauce covered pasta; so creamy and thick it coated her tongue with its unique flavor.  The chicken he had made to go along with it was superb and he still amazed her with his skill in the kitchen.

Logan looked up from his dinner with an innocent look on his face.  "Who me?" He said before taking a sip of wine, his cobalt blue eyes never leaving hers.

"Except I can't really remember why."  She said smiling softly, returning his gaze. 

They sat staring at each other, dinner all but forgotten.

"I-uh should probably go…I'll come by tomorrow night and we can deal with the whole transgenic thing."

"Okay see you then."  Logan smiled.

Max smiled back and left, closing the apartment door quietly behind her.

*             *             *

Gillette, Wyoming----An Hour Southwest of Seattle

Xavier leapt over the fallen charred branches in the desolate forest, leaves whipped at him scratching at his face but still he kept running.  The thing was gaining on him, he could sense it, feel it's dark presence behind him everywhere.  A metallic clang echoed in the air and Xavier ran faster.  He knew what that meant; the thing was hurling metal daggers at him again.  They pierced the air around him and he could hear the air split as they whooshed by.  

Xavier ducked and a dagger slammed into a tree above him, exactly where his head had just been.  He watched in amazement as the dagger pulled free of the bark and returned to it's owner.  Xavier immediately got up from the ground, his jeans were covered in mud and leaves were plastered to them but he was beyond caring.  He pushed his legs harder, willing every muscle of his being to help him escape.  

His camera bounced on his chest as he sprinted through the forest, the trees getting denser and denser making the going harder and harder.  'I'm not going to make it.  Xavier thought to himself, there is no way I'm going to come out of this alive, especially since I can't see the goddamn thing!' 

He had been walking through the ruins of the V.A hospital, where hundreds of people were killed in a deadly fire.  Supposedly.  Eyes Only had announced in one of his broadcasts that the V.A hospital was only a front for Manticore, a place where children had been genetically engineered and subjected to training.  Training to become the perfect soldier.  

So naturally Xavier's boss Victor had asked him to go check it out, said it was front-page material.  Xavier was basically a nobody at New World Weekly and this was his chance to prove himself to the pompous reporters that worked there.  

So here he was picking his way through crumbling walls and singed medical equipment, taking pictures. The place had a dark aura to it; like evil things had happened here, a deep foreboding welled inside Xavier's stomach. 

He had just been about to leave and face the assholes at work, who had predicted him coming back empty handed when suddenly a sound erupted in the quiet gloom.  Startled Xavier looked around, green eyes darting to find the source of the sound.  He had heard a metallic clang that resonated in the still air.  

Out of nowhere a blade whizzed right past his ear; he didn't see where it landed, he was too busy getting his ass out of there.  Xavier ran like hell, he didn't know who or what he was running from but he definitely didn't want to hang around and find out.  As he ran he looked behind him and saw a charcoal ebony shadow behind him, seemingly gliding over the glistening dewy ground. 

Now he soared over fallen trees and dodged blades that glistened in the light of the just-risen moon.  Xavier was exhausted, he had been running for hours on end and the ebony shadow didn't seem to be tiring at all.   One minute Xavier was running the next he was tumbling on the forest floor, tripped by an outcropping of rock covered in moss.  He waited a moment before getting up and turned to run.  The last sound Xavier heard was the whirring of a razor blade on it's way to the back of his head.

The shadow moved towards the human, willing his trusty blades to return to him.  '**Mission Completed.'  **It turned around and glided away, as the man's blood seeped out of the gash in his head, still warm.  

~~~

A/N---So do you like it so far?  Should I continue?


	3. Wisps of a Dream

**Title:** E r a s e  a n d  R e w i n d

**Author:** Mysticalmyst

**Email:** ochbas@msn.com

**Spoilers:** Medium is the Message and Borrowed Time (partial spoilers)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! Don't Sue!  The song I used in this chapter was 'My All' By Mariah Carey and it's all hers!

**Rating:** PG13 (Just to be safe)

**Summary:** This is the sequel to 'You Complete Me'.  You don't have to read it (but I'm not stopping you ;).  I noticed there was hardly any M/L fics about, so I wrote this! This story is for the shippers out there! Anyway both Logan and Max are trying to find cures for the virus and are becoming emotionally closer to each other.  But will a transgenic with a mysterious power and hidden abilities post ponetheir romance? Enjoy!  

**A/N: **Thank You to all who have reviewed so far, keep 'em coming!  This chapter's kinda short but it'll give you some background on the mysterious "Shadow" from the last chapter… 

Chapter 3:  Wisps of a Dream 

Max raced along the streets of Seattle, loving the feel of the wind in her hair as she rode her motorcycle with a reckless edge.  All the while a single word running through her head, 'Logan.'  Just being in his apartment made her feel lightheaded but to have him staring at her like that, with the candle flames reflected in his cerulean blue eyes…shivers ran up and down her spine.  Which is why she had made a hasty retreat, right when the air had become a little too charged.  'Not like anything could have happened…'  

 Max shook that thought out of her head quickly and concentrated on the road.  She was on her way to Joshua's to make sure he was all right; she knew that he got pretty lonely all by himself in the house with nothing to do but read books and paint.  'I wonder if Logan ever feels lonely, all alone in the penthouse, with Bling gone…STOP!  Enough of Logan, we're thinking about Joshua, Joshua, Joshua, Log-no-Joshua, Joshua…' It was her mantra, if she just kept thinking about Joshua she wouldn't be thinking about Logan all alone in his penthouse, drinking wine, blue eyes clear as a summers' day looking out of the window, sadness reflected back at him in the panes of the glass---

Thankfully Max had just arrived at Joshua's, she ran in to his house like a bat out of hell in an effort to escape her thoughts.  It didn't work.  

"Joshua?" She asked the darkness, breathless.

"In here Max!"  

She walked in to the main living room and found Joshua painting to an old pre-pulse song she hadn't heard before.  The music was slow and deep, the singer's harmonious voice penetrated through Max and the words seeped slowly in to her body, she was powerless to stop them from reaching her heart.   

~~~

I am thinking of you   
In my sleepless solitude tonight   
If it's wrong to love you   
Then my heart just won't let me be right   
'Cause I've drowned in you   
And I won't pull through   
Without you by my side   
I'd give my all to have   
Just one more night with you   
I'd risk my life to feel   
Your body next to mine   
'cause I can't go on   
Living in the memory of our song   
I'd give my all for your love tonight 

~~~

Max felt as if someone had carved her open like a turkey on thanksgiving and pulled out all the feelings that she had ever kept hidden.  The words struck her hard and deep, she was rendered senseless as the song claimed her mind.   

Joshua's paintbrush moved slowly on the canvas to the mood and rhythm of the music, his strokes were not broad and bold but thin and light, gentle; like a smooth caress to the skin.  Max sank slowly into a moth eaten chair with a mumbled "Hey Joshua" and continued to listen.           

~~~  
Baby can you feel me   
Imagining I'm looking in your eyes   
I can see you clearly   
Vividly emblazoned in my mind   
And yet you're so far   
Like a distant star   
I'm wishing on tonight   
I'd give my all to have   
Just one more night with you   
I'd risk my life to feel   
Your body next to mine   
'cause I can't go on   
Living in the memory of our song 

-^-^-^-^-^-

Max felt as if she were floating, soaring on an updraft of words that carried her far, far away to a place where there was no virus, to a dream.  

She closed her eyes and the dream came to her as clear as day. 

Sibelius' "Valse Triste played softly in the background, echoing in the small elegant ballroom, hovering in the air around her and filling it with music so sweet and soulful that her heart fluttered and her head swam. The edges of Max's vision were blurred, she felt as if she were nowhere and everywhere at once.  The room glowed golden from tiny spherical lights hanging from the high ceiling, giving it an even more hazy effect. 

A gorgeous white gown adorned her slim figure, fitting every curve.  Her hair was done up with loose curls that coiled perfectly, a single stubborn curl laid on her left cheek and she tucked it behind her ear, only to have it fall out of place again when she moved.  

Max glanced around at the dance floor and her gaze landed on a handsome man with shockingly blue eyes that gleamed in the light, wearing an equally handsome black tux.  Logan was sitting in a wheelchair with his hands firmly holding the sides.  It was as if he were nervous.  

Max spoke to him with a softness she never knew she possessed, "Dance with me." 

"I can't."  He replied with an underlying tone of regret and longing. 

"Sure, you can. Mind over matter." 

"See, my problem is I can't walk." 

"I'm not asking you to walk. Just dance." She pleaded with him.  In response he got up and pushed the wheelchair away, it soon faded out of sight.

"Whose dream is this, anyway? Yours or mine?"  He asked not expecting an answer, holding her tightly to him as they slowly moved on the dance floor.

"Don't ask me." Max answered in a breathy whisper, losing herself in his warm embrace.

-^-^-^-^-^-

Pulling away from the memory of the dream, Valse Triste slowly slipping away, a new song filled her head.  It reminded her of the sorrow and despair of the present and she choked back her tears, listening to the words that displayed the deep and everlasting pain that was her life.   

~~~  
 I'd give my all to have   
Just one more night with you   
I'd risk my life to feel   
Your body next to mine   
'cause I can't go on   
Living in the memory of our song   
I'd give my all for your love tonight   
Give my all for your love   
Tonight

~~~

Max would do anything to have just one more night with Logan, to be able to touch his sweet skin, to taste his creamy lips, to run her fingers through his soft hair, to rake her fingers down his graceful back…but that may never happen if she didn't do anything about it.   

Max glanced over at Joshua's finished painting, trying to focus on anything other than how much she wanted Logan and how hopeless they were.  

The canvas was painted a deep sapphire blue mixed with white and black; the brush strokes were visible and you could see that Joshua had painted in a spiral-like pattern that extended outwards from the center.  But what caught her eye the most was the small golden circle that he had painted solidly within the center.  

As Max watched, Joshua slowly stood back from the painting and examined it with a skeptical eye, he raised his paintbrush and dabbed at an imaginary spot, stepping backwards once again.  He smiled widely, revealing large canine teeth and turned to her, "It's finished."

Max got up from her seat and joined Joshua in front of the painting, "It's beautiful."  

"Joshua #62, Max and Logan," He announced proudly.   Seeing Max's puzzled look he explained gesturing to the painting as he did so, "Dark colors---sadness, confusion.  Bright Colors--- hope, love.  Max and Logan gettin' busy."  He smiled at her, "Have hopes up."

Max smiled back and inspiration struck her.  'Bingo'

~~~

Gillette, Wyoming----An Hour Southwest of Seattle

Shadow walked back to his perch on a tree outside the perimeter of the base, the only home he'd ever had; Manticore.  His assignment was to protect the base in secret or at least it had been.  Since the X5 rogues had escaped in '09 the committee had blamed him and they were afraid he would allow more of them to escape.  X7's with hive minds had been made with a sole purpose to only protect the base and follow orders.  But before that it had been Shadow who was used to watch all of the X series without them knowing, to make sure none of them would turn.  It was a time when he was not known as Shadow, but as X.   

Manticore had never made any like him; he was originally a mistake, created by accident.  He was supposed to be their only invisible soldier.  They hadn't counted on his ability to release daggers from his body on a whim or the fact that he could become visible in a human form, more powerful than they're 'superior' soldiers.  To say the least, they were very surprised when they found one of their doctors pinned to a wall and a naked man with jet-black hair standing in the center of the room, a confused look on his face.  

As soon as possible he was subjected to various training to help perfect his…abilities.  He had been the best soldier Manticore could ever have asked for and they had constantly tried to 'clone' him but they had never been successful.  Something about his genetic makeup was different and they never could figure out what, they tried many times and came very close but they never succeeded in making a perfect copy of him.  

After he had completed his rigorous training he was issued an assignment to protect the base and closely watch the X series, he was forbidden to show his human form.  For years he had watched the many soldiers Manticore created and perfected.  But he especially liked to watch the X5's.  They seemed different from all the other mindless drones Manticore created before him. X liked to watch them after lights out because they always gathered in the center of room and exchanged stories of the world outside.  They spoke of what was beyond Manticore, of regular people who lived carefree lives, where no one ever got punished, no one ever got yelled at and when you woke up in the morning you could stay in bed as long as you wanted.  

When they tried to escape, X hadn't been surprised.  But he felt a closeness with them that he hadn't felt for anyone else on the base.  Which is why he had let them escape and see the world they had always dreamed of.  

X had been punished severely and had been brought to the basement with all the other anomalies, treated as the mistake he was.  Not the prize soldier he could be.  It was there in the basement that he had made up the name Shadow.  It suited him well because he attacked in the black of night and pursued an unsuspecting victim with precision, sneaking up on them like their own shadows.  

So here he was sitting on the gnarled branches of an old tree, months after Manticore had been burned to the ground.  He had made up a new assignment for himself, to hunt and kill any who dared to set foot on the land Manticore had been built on.   


	4. Cure

**Title:** E r a s e  a n d  R e w i n d

**Author:** Mysticalmyst

**Email:** ochbas@msn.com or daenyte@yahoo.com 

**Spoilers:** Medium is the Message, Bit of Braniac and Borrowed Time (Partial Spoilers)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! Don't Sue!

**Rating:** PG13 (Just to be safe)

**Summary:** This is the sequel to 'You Complete Me'.  You don't have to read it (but I'm not stopping you ;).  I noticed there was hardly any M/L fics about, so I wrote this! This story is for the shippers out there! Anyway, Virus being cured, M/L drawing close to each other as the virus becomes a distant memory. But will a transgenic with a mysterious power and hidden abilities post pone their romance?  R & R

**A/N:**  This is where the Borrowed Time Partial Spoiler comes in, so if you haven't seen BT and don't want to be a teensy bit spoiled then don't read yet, read after and review! lol. Wow…this chapter took a loooong time; I kept finding all these little inconsistencies…so it took forever.  Hope it turned out all right though! ;)  Read on…

Chapter 4:  Cure

Bloodcurdling screams ripped through the dead calm of the still and silent black.  Running, always running.  Hot but sharp breathing against my neck.  Soldiers like me.  Clouds escape my frozen lips, forming erratic shapes in the harsh cold of a winter, dark and gloomy.  The taste of death is on my lips and the cold eats my skin with its deep and piercing bite.  The gruesome feel of leaves whipping at my frost bitten flesh vibrates through me.  But stopping was not an option.  

The screams heard, echoing in the forest remind me of what is close behind and what I plan on never returning to again.  The perimeter fence is so near I can almost feel the rusted chain against my chilled skin.  My military issued clothing is ripped in dozens of places, whipping free in the breeze as the wind rushed in my ears.  My bare feet are dead weight, frozen by the icy ground but I don't stop, and I won't until I'm free.  My breathing is ragged and my throat is sore from each breath of frigid air entering my lungs.  But I won't stop. 

"Crack!" The air splits with a sound like thunder erupting at my feet.  I look down in shock as the ice I was once running on crumbles inwards, ripping away and plunging me into a cold so intense, it fills every crevice.  I feel as if I'm drowning----and I am, in water that is inky and thick.  Falling in to a black abyss that envelops me in its vice-like embrace.  My eyes open and I watch as the surface slips away and I sink farther and farther.  A voice in the distance, familiar "Max!"…

"Jondy?"  Max asked in a foggy daze, struggling to yell to her sister above the ice.

"Max!? Max!?"  

My name.  But not screamed by a 9 year old this time.  A loud and oddly childish voice with an underlying rumble that could only be echoed by an animal. 

Joshua shook Max's shoulders lightly with his oversized hands tipped by sharp nails, trying to rouse her. 

Her eyes slowly opened and Max found herself drenched in sweat, tangled in a frazzled wool blanket.  It was a dream.  About a night years ago, when she and 11 others like her had escaped the barracks of Manticore.  Max shook her head slowly, trying to lose the last dredges of the dream from her mind, the images of a life that she had long since left behind.  Only to be reminded of every time she looked in the mirror. 

Max pulled away from her thoughts and looked at Joshua's anxious face, "Max alright?" He was crouched beside the sofa she had been sleeping on. 

"Yeah—I'm fine, just a bad dream.  It's nothing."

"Manticore?"

"Yeah."

They watched each other in silence for a moment.  Each remembering their separate stays at the place where their nightmares had been reality.  

"Little fella, want some tea?"

Max smiled slightly and shifted in to a sitting position.  "I'd like that."  

Joshua spread his lips in a large toothy grin and walked to what passed for a kitchen in a room off the main hallway.

Max slowly pulled herself from the fabric of the couch, it stuck to her slick flesh and when she peeled away, it made a sound like skin being ripped off an orange.  She ran a hand through her damp hair and headed over to where she had been working before deciding to take a nap.  She sat down in a hard wood chair and peered at her earlier calculations jotted down on a note pad, if she was right, the virus would be history.  Which meant that she and Logan could finally…shake hands.  Max smiled, dazed.

It was all too much to take in.  

Joshua saying something about bright colors had reminded her of the only non-yellow-painted patch of calculations on the lab tech's papers.  Max had glared at the tech's barely legible scribblings for hours on end and must have overlooked that one function countless times.  Now because of a paint happy nomalie and the help of a cocky dumb ass, she had found a cure.  It was like some kind of cruel, twisted joke.  

Max mentally checked through the formula, _'_F (x1) times delta x is approximately equal to delta q. The messenger RNA would codify an interruption in the protein strand, the DNA wouldn't be able to replicate, and the virus would hit a dead end.'

She hoped. 

Max smirked bitterly.  A year ago she would have laughed, 'hope'? Bull shit.  Hopes a con job people trip behind till they finally get a grip on the cold hard truth, right? Now she wasn't so sure.  Hope was all she had left to cling to. All she had left.  

At that moment, Joshua returned with Max's tea and lowered it carefully on to the desk in front of her.  "Careful, it's hot."  He warned indicating his burnt finger.

"Thanks Joshua."  

"So…the virus bitch is going down?" 

"Could be. You know, I never would've caught this if you hadn't painted over my papers."  She said thoughtfully sipping her tea. 'Damn.  Joshua forgot to put sugar in this again.'__

Tea half-finished, Max left the house with a hug and goodbye to Joshua.  As she took the steps, foot poised in the air a step away from hitting the ground; a thought popped in to her head and waged war against others.

'I have to tell Logan… no, I should wait until I'm sure…I should at least tell him that there is a possibility of---no I don't wanna get his hopes up…but he would tell me if there was even a chance of--- '

"Ah, shit.  Looks like I'm gonna be payin' Logan another visit tonight."

*             *             *

--Logan's Penthouse--

'To knock or not to knock…hmm…decisions, decisions.'Max questioned, hesitating in front of Logan's door.  In seconds she had her trusty lock pick in her hands, making quick work of the brass doorknob.   _'_Not to knock.'Max pushed the door open and entered the apartment swiftly, closing it shut behind her.  Her footsteps were light, her shoes not making a sound. 

"Logan?"  She asked the darkness, the only light came from the direction of his office.  Max listened for the familiar sound of Logan's skilled hands clacking against the keyboard.  Nothing.  Her movements were slow but quick, as she crept toward the dull glow of the room where he spent most of his time.  As Max came upon the office, she had to stifle a giggle at the sight before her.  

Logan lay slumped on the desk; hands still upon the keyboard and mouse, head resting awkwardly on his arm, hair sticking out in all directions, glasses askew.  But most priceless of all was the low, whistling sound that escaped his parted lips every time he exhaled.  'Guess he wasn't joking when he said he snored…mmm…he looks yummy…STUPID THOUGHTS!'  Max scolded inwardly.  __

In an effort to shift her gaze from Logan's closed eyes and dark lashes; she peered at the time in the bottom right hand corner of his computer screen, 11:53pm.  'Wow, it's early.  I can't believe Logan's already dead to the world…no point waking him up.  I should just leave and check with a doctor first… '

Max nodded in agreement and padded silently back the way she came.  Moving with Manticore-given stealth she was seconds before reaching the door, her hand stretched to take the doorknob; when a sudden tremor rippled through her arm.  'Oh please not now, please just not now…' But her body refused to obey her mental commands, and this time the quaking spread down through her like white-hot fire.  Though this seizure wasn't as bad as they usually were, if she didn't get hold of some Tryptophan soon…things were going to get ugly.  Max moved forward on shaky legs,  'Bathroom.  Logan's always got some extra pills in the---' Before she could even complete her own thought, her body jerked forward and her footsteps faltered.  

Max paused, taking a moment to catch her breath and wait for this particularly bad spasm to finish racking through her.  Staggering ever forward, she made her way to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet.  A bottle--- that had never looked more beautiful in its life--- greeted Max's tired eyes.  Her hand shot out quickly, she opened it and dumped a few pills in to her shaking right hand.  Swallowing them dry, she let herself slide to the cold tile floor and wait for the seizing to pass.   

**F L A S H B A CK**

Images of Max handing a small, clear bottle to the thin blonde before her.  The woman grasps it in her small hands and eyes it curiously, looking back up at Max's anxious face.  Asha hurry's off to the bathroom and the sound of a cabinet door opening is heard.  

The living room is hazy and out of focus; as Max bites her lower lip in worry, her eyes scouring the large living quarters for any sign of Logan.  There, slumped on the lush leather couch.  His body is covered in large red blemishes, his head drooping as he struggles to hold it up.  

Images of the blonde appearing from the bathroom, the needle filled with antigen.  It pierces Logan's skin but he barely notices, his eyelids slowly closing and popping open, as he struggles to stay awake.  

Max disappears from the room; the bathroom comes in to focus and Max leans queasily over the toilet bowl.  The contents of her stomach are emptied into it as she vomits.  Hot tears are welled up in her eyes and her body shudders with every loud shaking breath she takes, her legs crumple beneath her and she curls in to a ball on the floor.

From Max's view on the floor, her eyes focus on a familiar golden tinged bottle placed haphazardly on the edge of the countertop.    

**E N D F L A S H B A C K**

Minutes later, Max's seizure had subsided but the images that had filled her mind still pounded down in to her like a sledgehammer.  'I hafta get out of here now…I can't let that happen to Logan again---I just can't.'  She pulled herself up from the ground and moved to close the still open cabinet.  That is, if the light switch hadn't flicked on at that exact second.

"Max?"  A hoarse voice asked clouded with sleep.  Logan stumbled into the bathroom; hand still on the light switch, his eyes blinking furiously trying to adjust to the sudden brightness.  

"Uh—hey." Her voice squeaked painfully and Max's eyes shut in annoyance.  'Damn it.  I can't believe I didn't hear him. He slept in the exoskeleton…Lydecker would be rolling over in his grave…that is if he is actually dead, which is not possible.  The man's friggin immortal. I would just have to explain to him that his perfect soldiers had a certain pain in the ass defect---'  

"What are you doing here?"  Logan asked more puzzled than angry, cutting off her claustrophobic thoughts.

'I can't tell him yet.  Not until I'm sure.'__

Stalling for time, Max's gaze slipped downwards; his black shirt was halfway unbuttoned, exposing smooth muscles and bronze skin, his blue jeans hung loosely on his waist hiding the exoskeleton from view, but as her wandering eyes reached the "danger zone" she couldn't help but chuckle.  Though her voice was weak.  

"What?!"  Logan questioned, confused at the giggles that escaped Max's throat.  

She pointed a finger at his crotch and erupted in to a full-fledged fit of laughter, forgetting the pain of her recent seizure.  For the moment anyway.    

Logan glanced down and all confusion was swept away, to be replaced by a crushing wave of nausea and embarrassment.  Turning away slightly from Max he tugged **up **the zipper of his pants.  Realizing a bit too late that in his hurry to get to the washroom he had unbuttoned and unzipped the offending garment.  Seeing Max in his penthouse 'uninvited' made him forget his state of dress and now he was going to pay for his stupidity.  

Max's laughter died down agonizingly slow for Logan, cheeks going from a blazing red to a dull pink.  

Picking up what was left of his shredded dignity and ego, Logan mustered together his earlier question, "So…what are you doing here Max?"

"I'm out of Tryptophan and since you always have an extra bottle, I thought I'd just pop in and grab it."  She explained in between forced giggles in an effort to mask the half- lie.  To add to Logan's discomfort and distract him from actually taking in her somewhat cryptic words Max added, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."  She threw a seductive smirk in for good measure.

Logan blushed, but his eyebrows scrunched up and collided over dark blue orbs.  Being an undercover journalist the years before he had met Max helped him to distinguish the truth from the bullshit.  'Oh crap, he isn't buyin' it.'  

He opened his mouth twice to speak, deciding which question he liked better.  "Did you have a seizure? ---Why didn't you wake me up?"  He liked both.

'You're on a roll tonight, Logan.  He just has to be concerned and have "that look" on his face. This would be the perfect time for me to spew out some sounds, words, something!!'

"It was a mild one and I don't think another electromagnetic pulse could have woke you up.  Though it seems the call of nature helped to accomplish the unfathomable."  Max finished with a smile playing on her lips.  _'_Please let that be enough.'__

Miracle of miracles, he laughed.  It was the most beautiful sound Max had ever heard, the tension ebbed away.  _'_Ok Max, edge toward the door now.  You don't know how long you can keep standing.'

"I should probably go."  She uttered softly, the sound echoed in the sudden silence.

"You sure you don't want to wait a bit.  You don't want to start seizing while you're on your bike."  Worry lines creased his ruggedly handsome face, his eyes burrowed deep in to hers and for a moment her body froze.  'I can't do this to him--why don't I just tell him I might've found a cure for the virus?  No, I can't do that.  I don't even know if it'll wor---'__

"Max?"  

"I'll be fine.  I have to go—I'll check in tomorrow k?"  

"Uh-okay…you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine Logan."

He walked behind her as she made her way to the door.  

"Oh and Logan?"  She spun around and began walking backwards, facing him. 

"Yeah?"

"You should probably wait until you're safely in the vicinity of a bathroom before unbuttoning your pants.  Just a thought."  She winked before turning around and exiting the penthouse, leaving behind an embarrassed Logan. 

Max breathed a large sigh of relief as the elevator made its slow crawl to the ground floor.  The lids of her eyes felt heavy and they slid closed, only to be opened again by the loud "Ping!" of the elevator reaching the ground floor.  

She allowed herself a moment of rest, leaning against the brick wall of the garage.  The seizure had taken a lot out of her, but she had gone through worse.  Seeing Logan looking particularly fine had helped her to realize that the pain didn't matter.  Not as much as going through another day without being able to touch him, of being too scared to go near him for fear of endangering his life.  Without Logan, her life was going to suck. Hard. Pushing thoughts of an empty existence aside and with a burst of newly found energy, she walked to her baby.  Sliding on and revving the engine she sped off, feeling the familiar thrill she always felt when she sensed her life was about to change.  

*             *             *

--Alec's Apartment--

Max knocked hard on a scarred wood door, her foot stamping impatiently while she waited. 'Alec, you better be home…' 

The door jerked open and an annoyed pair of green eyes answered, meeting her dark eyed glare.  Max shoved past Alec, not waiting for an invitation and entered the apartment without a word.  Alec, still standing by the door and eyeing the spot she vacated spoke dryly in a voice laced with sarcasm, "Why don't you come in." He turned slowly around to face her.

"I need 20 large."  Max pursed her lips in a thin line, her posture leaving no room for argument.

Alec stared, his mouth open, a look of bewilderment written across his face, "I'm sorry Max but I don't have that kinda cash."

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you.  I need 20 large. Now."  Max moved forward, getting in his face and staring him down.

"Listen, I'd love to help with whatever crisis you're having but like I said before---"   

"It's for the virus.  I might've found a cure and need the cash tonight."  Max stated, concealing her anxiety with a monotone voice and leaving behind the hostility that came whenever she talked to Alec.

"Sorry Max but---"

In a flash, Max had slammed Alec against the door and was holding his arms down.  Her knee moved simultaneously and positioned itself just above his groin, "So where's the cash?"

"Jacket pocket."  Alec answered automatically, knowing there was no point of escape or fight.  Max would end up kicking his ass in the long run, either way. 

He stood docile as Max plunged her hand in to his pocket, keeping her knee in place as she probed the leather interior.

Her fingers closed around the thick wad of cash, she pulled it out to dance between her fingertips in front of Alec's face.  "You're paying me back right?"  He asked in a weak voice, eyes pleading. Although he knew what her answer would be.

Max laughed shortly and her expression became serious, moving closer she spoke right in to Alec's face, "No."   Her knee dove straight toward Alec's nether regions and he let out a strangled gasp of shock.  It slowed seconds before meeting the point of contact, knee dipping downwards slightly and slamming in to the space between his thighs and **below** his crotch, hitting the closed door behind him.  The door shuddered in answer and Alec's body vibrated in perfect rhythm with the quaking the blow had caused.

With that Max left, shoving Alec's stunned body aside and throwing open the door before stalking out.  A slow smile of triumph spread across her face,  'Next stop the doctor's office.'

*             *             *

--Crash--(2:45am)

"So you and Logan can kick it again?"  Original Cindy asked.  Her honey brown eyes stared playfully in to Max's, her demeanor eager and hopeful.  

Max gave a small smile at her eager tone and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, so as not to appear too excited.  Who knew if it would work, it'd be best not to let her true feelings show.  "12 hours."

"What?" Cindy asked, disbelieving.

"12 hours."  Louder this time.

**F L A S H B A C K **

"12 hours."  

"What?"  Max asked eyes filled with ill-contained excitement.

"12 hours."  The doctor repeated in a voice that was slow and deliberate. 

"That's it? And the virus will be terminated?" 

"Yes." 

"Are you sure?"  Max just couldn't believe it.  It was beyond her comprehension.  She rubbed the spot idly on her arm where the needle had entered.  One painless shot and the virus was gone.  

"Yes.  The antibodies will have completely encased the virus nuclei and protein coating by then."  He spoke, bored and seemingly disgusted at her questioning his ability to perform a simple task.  

"Now if you could, I have other business to attend to."  He gestured with his hands toward the door of the lab.

"Right---Thanks again."  

She left; passing by the envelope she had given Dilbert (another lab tech creep she had found), in it lay 20 grand—courtesy of Alec.   

"Joshua's in for one hell of a large box of Little Debbie's." Max muttered to herself.

"What?" 

"Nothing."  Max blew a kiss at the balding man and left, the balls of her feet bouncing with every step, her eyes spewing bliss like a fountain.

**E N D  F L A S H B A C K**

But as soon as Max had set foot on the grimy streets of Seattle, every ounce of joy had been sucked out of her.  "What if's" cascaded down on to her like rocks in a landslide, the fear consumed her. _'_What if it didn't work?  What if Logan contracts the virus anyway? What if this is only temporary? What If Logan dies?  What if---STOP…think happy thoughts, happy thoughts---chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate, motorcycle, new carburetor, actual toothpaste, coffee, kissing a pair of smooth lips, haunting blue eyes,---STOP…non-Logan thoughts, non-Logan thoughts…' __

Max had continued with her painful mind games until she found herself stumbling in to Crash. Where she always ended up whenever she felt like losing herself in a pitcher of beer, in a place where she was anonymous.  And this was where she began a new train of thought 'Think unhappy thoughts, never get hopes up, squash all joy…'

So here she was sitting down across from Cindy (who had slid herself into the seat across from her the moment Max had sat down---apparently Crash wasn't a place where she could be completely anonymous), staring down at a still-full glass of beer, talking to her while trying to appear unmoved, "I found a cure for the virus that will take effect in 12 hours."  Her voice was flat, her words blunt and she felt in no mood to elaborate her response.

Original Cindy's hand appeared from nowhere and smacked her upside the head.  Max moaned rubbing the spot with a palm, "Damn OC, that hurt." Her dark eyes clouded in confusion.

"Yeah, well you deserved it.  What is with you?"  Original Cindy's eyebrows were furrowed, her eyes looking straight through Max's façade as she spoke.  "You been waitin' for a chance to get together with Logan all these months…now you got it and you're acting all 'who cares'?" All anger had disappeared from her voice but she held Max's gaze.  

Max sighed and held her head in her hands, "I just don't want to be disappointed if this doesn't work and I sure as hell don't want to get Logan's hopes up again."  She looked up into sympathetic eyes, "I can't risk hurting him."

"Life's all bout risks boo, you don't take em' and life's just gonna pass you by."   

"You're right…" Max replied slowly, doubtful.  

"I'm always right." Original Cindy replied, picking up Max's untouched beer and drinking from it.  

"Now do me a favor suga' and give me the uncut version of how the love bug got squashed."     

Max spent the next couple of minutes explaining her stay at Joshua's; how she had realized that a specific formula could be used to cure her of the virus.  Max pondered telling OC about her trip to Logan's penthouse and the little encounter she had with him and the red silk boxers sticking out of his pants zipper… 

'Nah Logan's suffered enough.'She decided fondly remembering the blush that had crept up on to his freshly stubbled cheeks.

"Boo?"  

"Huh? —Oh right.  I found a specialist who used the formula I gave him and created a cure, for 20 g's.  The virus should be gone in 12 hours."  Max stretched and yawned, the seizure finally taking its toll on her body.

"How'd you get the cheddar anyway?"

"I have my ways."

Original Cindy narrowed her eyes and raised a hand---smacking style.

"Fine, I know-- uncut version.  I-uh-had a little chat with Alec. " Max grinned slightly, a devilish look in her eyes at the memory of the cash retrieval.  

"And he gave you 20 grand?  Just like that?"  

Max nodded her head, trying in vain to conceal the smile threatening to break loose.  "Yeah…well I gotta do one more thing before I can come home tonight.  Tell Normal that I'm sick tomorrow--uh--today, k?"

"Got ya' covered."

"Thanks, late." 

"Late."  

---Space Needle---

The night sky is like a velvet cloak sheathing the city in its black folds. Lost in its infinite depths the lights of Seattle glow dull and faint.  Only the wind seemed alive, tearing at her hair until it flowed out behind her, moving in tumultuous waves.  Here, silence is deafening.  But Max loved it on the Space Needle, from this height it seemed she could really get some perspective on her life.  She sat comfortably lost in solitude, a slave to the thoughts flitting in and out of her skull.  

'I found a cure for the virus.  Maybe if I keep saying it over and over it'll actually sink in.  I found a cure for the virus.  I found a cure for the virus.  I found a cure for the virus…Nope, didn't work.  All night I've been trying to keep from getting my hopes up…but that isn't really possible is it?  I need something to cling to. This **is** my rotten, miserable life, anyway.  Something's bound to go wrong, right?  Maybe this is just a side effect of always being let down.  Maybe tomorrow will be different.' __

Max glanced down at her beeper as it counted down the hours left.  

'10 hours from now, I'll be in Logan's apartment telling him—wait…what am I going to say to Logan? Hmmm…maybe I could just forget the whole talking thing, throw myself at him and spend the night in his be---Woah! Where'd that come from?  I can't be in heat can I?  Max mentally ticked off the months in her head.  Nope…must have been temporary insanity.  Yup, definitely temporary insanity…who am I kidding?  I love him…and I'd do anything to be with him.  I'm sick of the complete bullshit we both hid behind a year ago.  Tomorrow I'm gonna tell him how I feel.  Second chances don't come around very often and I sure as hell am not going to waste this one.  OC was right, life is all about risks.' __

Max sat staring out into the fading darkness, eyes reflecting determination mingled with fear for what the new day would bring.   

**A/N**-I tried to think of a new and different way to cure the virus but…well it sucked! :P lol. Even though this chapter was probably very unoriginal tell me what you think, how I can improve it, if I should just keep writing etc…Thanx a bunch!


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